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The introduction of agriculture, around 10,000 years ago, brought about the greatest change in human life after the emergence of tool-making capability among the hominids some 2.5 million years ago. No other single event has so thoroughly transformed human life and society as the introduction of agriculture. Agriculture brought about permanently settled life and security of food and triggered the greatest demographic explosion in human history. With the availability of adequate and assured food supply more people could be fed. Secondly, agriculture created new occupations.

The present monograph reconstructs this fascinating story. It is based primarily on archaeobotanical evidences supported by archaeological and literary evidences. It encompasses the whole of Indo-Pakistan sub-continent from the Neolithic period (seventh millennium B.C.) to the early historical period. The coherent story of the origin and spread of agriculture in India based primarily on archaeobotanical evidences has been presented for the first time in this book.